Who We Are and What We’re Looking For

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Jane Dystel, President, has been an agent since 1986. Her publishing career began at Bantam Books. She then moved to Grosset & Dunlap, where she was a managing editor and later an acquisitions editor. From there, she went on to become Publisher of World Almanac Publications, where she created her own imprint. When she joined the agency that would soon become Acton and Dystel Inc., she quickly developed a reputation for honesty, forthrightness, hard work, and real commitment to her authors and their writing careers. In 1994, with a growing roster of clients, she founded Jane Dystel Literary Management, which became Dystel & Goderich Literary Management in 2003, and Dystel, Goderich & Bourret in 2016. Born in Chicago, Jane grew up in Rye, New York. She is the daughter of publishing legend Oscar Dystel, who headed Bantam Books for more than a quarter of a century. In her teens, she was an accomplished figure skater. Jane received her BA from New York University and attended Georgetown Law School for one year before leaving for her first job in publishing. She has an abiding interest in legal subjects. She is married to Steven Schwinder and has a daughter, Jessica, and a son, Zachary. She lives in New York City with her husband and two dachshunds, and is a tenacious golfer.

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Miriam Goderich and Jane Dystel have been partners since 1995 and they work closely as an agenting team to generate book ideas, help create book proposals, place projects with publishing companies, and negotiate all contracts pertaining to publishing and subsidiary rights. In addition, Miriam is an insightful editor who has been responsible for discovering and working on a number of first novels. She is also very involved in developing nonfiction projects and taking them from the conceptual stage to publication. Miriam’s areas of interest include: literary and commercial fiction as well as some genre fiction, narrative nonfiction, pop culture, psychology, history, science, art, business books, and biography/memoir. Miriam received a BA in Comparative Literature and an MA in English from Columbia University. She was born in Cuba and, prior to settling in the New York area, lived in Spain and Miami, Florida. Currently, she resides just outside the City with her husband and son, a dog, and a parrot.

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Michael Bourret joined Dystel, Goderich & Bourret as an intern while studying film and television production at New York University, and began at the agency full-time in 2000. After ten years as an agent in the New York office, Michael now works in Los Angeles in the West Coast office of DGLM. There, he continues to represent his own list of bestselling and award-winning clients while also aggressively pursuing new film and television opportunities.

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Stacey Kendall Glick, Vice President, joined DG&B in 1999 after working in film and television development for five years. Following a number of internships in the entertainment business, her first job after college was at PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, where she looked for book projects to be adapted into feature films. Next, she worked as a story editor at Hearst Entertainment, where she scouted material for television movies. Stacey grew up just outside of Manhattan and is a former child actress who appeared on television, in theater, and in feature films. She now lives in New Jersey with her husband and four daughters (the youngest are identical twins), and enjoys cooking and baking, sipping cocktails, taking pictures, shopping, theater, going to Mets games and eating chocolate, cheese and spicy tuna hand rolls (not necessarily in that order) when she can find the time. She has a wide-ranging and eclectic client list, and is interested in many subjects, including (but not limited to) on the adult side: narrative nonfiction including memoir, parenting, cooking and food, psychology, science, health and wellness, lifestyle, current events, pop culture, and select adult contemporary fiction. And on the children’s side: YA, middle grade, nonfiction, and picture books. Stacey is a member of the AAR and is a council member of the Rutgers University Council on Children’s Literature (RUCCL.org).

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Jim McCarthy interned for DG&B while studying urban design at New York University. Upon graduating in 2002, Jim realized he would much rather continue working with books than make the jump (as he had originally intended) to the field of city planning. As an avid fiction reader, his interests encompass both literary and commercial works in the adult and young adult categories. He is particularly interested in literary women’s fiction, underrepresented voices, mysteries, romance, paranormal fiction, and anything unusual or unexpected. In addition to fiction he is also interested in narrative nonfiction, memoir, and paranormal nonfiction. Jim was raised just outside of NYC and currently lives in Manhattan.

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Lauren E. Abramo joined DG&B in 2005 after getting degrees in English at NYU and Irish Studies at NUI Galway. As VP and Subsidiary Rights Director for the agency she sells foreign and audio rights, and she also maintains a very small client list. Her interests include humorous middle grade and contemporary YA on the children’s side, and upmarket commercial fiction and well-paced literary fiction on the adult side. She’s also interested in adult narrative nonfiction, especially pop culture, psychology, pop science, reportage, media, and contemporary culture. In nonfiction she has a strong preference for interdisciplinary approaches, and in all categories she’s especially interested in underrepresented voices. Born in New York City and raised not far outside it, she now lives in Brooklyn.

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Jessica Papin first joined DG&B in 2003, after spending eight years as an editor at Warner Books (now Grand Central). In 2004, she moved to Egypt, where she spent three years working for the American University in Cairo Press. Upon her return to the United States, she rejoined DG&B. With a background on both sides of the desk, she loves working collaboratively with clients to shape and refine their work. Her stay in the Middle East has given her an abiding interest in the history and politics of the region, as well as the broader Islamic world. She is interested in plot-driven literary and smart commercial fiction, and narrative non-fiction across a range of subjects, including history, medicine, science, economics and women’s issues. In every case, she looks for passion, erudition, and storytelling skill. A wry sense of humor doesn’t hurt.

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John Rudolph joined DG&B in 2010 after twelve years as an acquiring children’s book editor. He began his career at Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers as an Editorial Assistant and then moved to the G. P. Putnam’s Sons imprint of the Penguin Young Readers Group, where he eventually served as Executive Editor on a wide range of young adult, middle-grade, nonfiction, and picture book titles. He graduated from Amherst College with a double major in Classics and Music. While John’s list started out as mostly children’s books, it has evolved to the point where it is now half adult, half children’s authors —and he’s looking to maintain that balance. On the children’s side, John is keenly interested in middle-grade and young adult fiction and would love to find the next great picture book author/illustrator. For adults, he is actively looking for narrative nonfiction, especially in music, sports, history, popular science, “big think”, performing arts, health, business, memoir, military history, and humor. He is also interested in commercial fiction, but is very selective in what he takes on.

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Michael Hoogland joined DG&B after completing a foreign rights internship at Sterling Lord Literistic. Before pursuing a career in publishing, Mike studied at Colgate University and graduated with a degree in political science and the intention to work in government. He interned with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, but soon realized his interests and passions were better suited to a career in the publishing industry. After Colgate, Mike went on to gain a valuable education at the Columbia Publishing Course and discovered his passion for the agenting side of the business. He is currently looking for thrillers (especially domestic), suspense, sci-fi/fantasy, upmarket women’s fiction, and children’s lit (YA, middle grade, and picture books), as well as a wide range of narrative nonfiction.

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Sharon Pelletier joined DG&B in 2013 after working for Europa Editions, Vantage Press, and Barnes & Noble. Born and raised in the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan, Sharon moved to New York in 2009 to work with books in the city of skyscrapers and brunch. She is looking for unexpected suspense fiction, compelling book club fiction, and nonfiction projects that blend personal narrative and in-depth reporting. Sharon especially welcomes submissions from diverse voices, whether fiction or non.

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Eric Myers joined DG&B in 2015 after thirteen years at The Spieler Agency. A graduate of UCLA and the Sorbonne, Eric entered publishing as a journalist and author. His books include Screen Deco: A Celebration of High Style in Hollywood, Forties Screen Style: A Celebration of High Pastiche in Hollywood, and Uncle Mame: The Life of Patrick Dennis, all published by St. Martin’s Press. His writing has also appeared in The New York Times Magazine and Arts and Leisure sections, as well as Time Out, Variety, Opera News, and Art and Auction. As an agent, Eric has a strong affinity for Young Adult and Middle Grade fiction, as well as adult non-fiction, especially in the areas of history, biography, psychology, health and wellness, mind/body/spirit, and pop culture. He also loves a good thriller, and is open to memoir from authors with strong platforms.

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Erin Young joined DG&B as the assistant to Michael Bourret at the West Coast office in Los Angeles, where she is also working toward an M.F.A. in Creative Writing. Previously, she worked as an editor at two prestigious literary magazines. Erin received her bachelor’s degree in zoology and loves all things about animals. She is interested in all forms of young adult and middle grade fiction, particularly fantasy, paranormal, and magical realism. In adult fiction, she likes weird literary and intellectual commercial thrillers. In nonfiction, she enjoys memoirs and biographies, sport and science narratives, and just about anything unusually original.

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Amy Elizabeth Bishop joined Dystel, Goderich & Bourret after being a DG&B intern in the summer of 2014 and then continuing to hang around until after she graduated from SUNY Geneseo with a degree in Creative Writing. She grew up in upstate New York and has now made the traitorous switch to downstate living. Reading-wise, she is interested in both commercial and literary women’s fiction, fiction from diverse authors, historical fiction, and contemporary YA. In terms of nonfiction, she’s compelled by personal narratives, biographies, and anything with strange facts. She is also a poet and reads for The Rumpus in her spare time.

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Kemi Faderin joined DG&B as an intern while pursuing her M.S. in Publishing at NYU. She grew up in Ellicott City, Maryland where she went to college and received her B.A. in English. Shortly after graduation, Kemi moved to New York in early 2015. An internship at Liza Dawson Associates solidified her interest in a career in the publishing industry, especially the agenting side of it. She is interested in anything different and original, but especially in smart, plot-driven YA, historical fiction/ non-fiction, contemporary women’s fiction, and literary fiction.